A Night with Janis Joplin
A Night with Janis Joplin is a musical that includes works of singer-songwriter Janis Joplin (1943–1970). Written and directed by Randy Johnson, the show has toured consistently since 2011, with a forthcoming stint at the Peacock Theatre in London beginning on August 20, 2024. The show mounted at Portland Center Stage from May 24 through June 26, 2011 with Cat Stephani in the lead role, before it traveled for stints at The Allen Theatre at the Cleveland Playhouse, the Mead Center for American Theater, Milkwaukee Repertory Theater, and the Arena Stage in Washington, DC in 2012 with Mary Bridget Davies. One review wrote of the opening night that “Davies not only filled in, she transcended, delivering a performance so raw, real and in-the-moment that it brought people to their feet again and again.” A Night with Janis Joplin officially opened at the Lyceum Theatre on Broadway on October 10, 2013 and closed in February, after 140 performances. The show was produced by Todd Gershwin and Daniel Chilewich, in association with The Estate of Janis Joplin and Jeffrey Jampol for JAM, Inc. The Broadway version garnered a Tony Award Nomination for the lead actress Mary Bridget Davies. Davies, who was born in Cleveland, Ohio, has previously played Joplin in the 2005 production of Love, Janis. She has also toured in Europe with Joplin’s original band, Big Brother and the Holding Company. Post-Broadway, the show traveled through North America beginning in 2015, touring for seven years and making over 130 stops at cities including Toronto, Ontario, Los Angeles, California, Detroit, Michigan, St. Louis, Missouri, Austin, Texas, Atlanta, Georgia and more. On August 23, 25 and 26 of 2022, the show traveled to Japan for three days of performances at the Tokyo International Forum Hall for an all-Japanese cast helmed by singer Aina the End playing the lead role of Janis Joplin. In 2023, it was announced that the hit show would move to the West End for a limited-run at the Peacock Theatre in London from August 20 – September 28, 2024 with Mary Bridget Davies returning to star in the lead role.